September ended with much more excitement than we anticipated but we did do some things that didn’t involve search-and-rescue or hospitals. Here’s a round-up of What We Did, What We Ate, What We Watched and What We Read.
What We Did
On the first day of September, we got out of school early due to massive rain and potential flooding from the remnants of Hurricane Ida. And the next day, we had no school because of flooded roads and the inability of buses to navigate their routes. So, we took a walk around the neighborhood to see how high the streams and creeks were.
Then I took another walk in the other direction to see the flooding in a neighborhood and a nearby park.
I won a prize for summer reading at the Lancaster Public Library. What?! Reading is its own reward, but getting rewards for reading is fun, too. I can’t wait to use these delicious gift cards.
Board games: We Didn’t Playtest This and Super Racko. The first was a gift from a friend who was moving and would be a lot more fun with a lot more people. The second always makes me think of my grandfather.
On Labor Day: Phil had the whole day off. So, we ate pancakes for breakfast then went for a walk at Overlook Park through the meadow and some woods. When we got home we played Catan for the second time ever.
Field hockey games. So. Many. Field. Hockey. Games. We were on the sidelines cheering on our girl as often as possible.
Munro Step Challenge. Every year the My Peak Challenge community that I belong to for fitness, nutrition and accountability raises money for BloodCancerUK in September by hosting a step challenge. This year, participants could pick from nine different trails and walk the equivalent amount of steps it would take to complete the trail. I finished four trails and started a fifth one, totaling more than 300,000 steps and 150 miles. Not too shabby for a month.
Date night! It was Lancaster City Restaurant Week so we checked out a new place, Norbu, a Bhutanese/Nepalese restaurant where we ate a prix-fixe menu that was filling and satisfying in all the best ways. Then we went to the TellUs360 rooftop bar for drinks, which were on the house because of Phil’s connections in the restaurant industry. This still surprises and delights me when it happens.
Beer garden family night to hear our friend Amy play and sing some fun tunes. Our son was not looking forward to going then we could hardly get him to leave. We ate from food trucks: Walk-O-Taco and Holy Smoked Meats.
Hiking, just kidding! We tried to hike the Appalachian Trail to Mount Minsi in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, but well, if you don’t know how that turned out, take a minute or 30 to read about it.
What We Ate
Seafood chowder. Husband put this together on the rainy night of flooding, and I am 100 percent ready for soup season.
Tuna Melts ala Chrissy Teigen’s Cravings.
I bought this cookbook on one of our shopping trips to Building Character. It’s total comfort food and these were tasty.
Duck Donuts. Our church had a re-opening celebration and served these afterward. I’d never had them. Solid donuts.
Tomato bean casserole. Trying to use up our garden tomatoes while not buying tons of groceries every night for meals.
Frisco’s chicken. A whole chicken and a bunch of sides: brussels sprouts, yuca fries, green beans, fried plantains and empanadas. I used one of the gift cards I won from the library.
At Norbu we ate green bean pakoras, pumpkin soup, cauliflower soup, lamb curry, sweet and sticky eggplant, and chocolate momos for dessert. Yum, yum, yum.
Walk-O-Taco and Holy Smoked Meats at the beer garden. I had taco tots, which did not disappoint. The walking tacos looked a-mazing as well. Kids had big mama (a pulled pork mac) and a large pork sandwich.
What We Watched
LegoMasters. I don’t want to be on the show, and I don’t even really want to build with Lego without instructions, but this show makes me believe I could do it.
The Cook of Castamar. Finished it. Finally. A mostly satisfying ending. Don’t watch if you’re not into subtitles or dubbed English.
Virgin River. Yes, I went back and started re-watching it and like has consistently happened with books-to-shows, I’ve picked up on some things in the show because I’ve read the books. I finished the rewatch of all three seasons and I was reminded that when season 4 drops, it’s going to be HUGE. Cliffhanger, much?
Steel Magnolias. I made Phil watch this after a friend of ours got engaged and said the colors for their wedding were going to be blush and bashful. He didn’t love it, but I’m not sorry I watched it with him.
Kim’s Convenience. Continuing through the series.
Loki. I like Loki, the character. Am I allowed to like Loki? Also Tom Hiddleston. We’re still not finished with this series yet.
Rick Stein’s Mediterranean Escapes. We need another travel show. This first episode was about Corsica and Sardinia.
Sanditon. Why am I just now finding out about Theo James???? Oh, yeah, the storyline is good too. I watched the first four episodes and immediately went to the library for the next four.
Clarkson’s Farm. This is one of Phil’s shows featuring one of the members of the Grand Tour.
What We Read
A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny. While I was reading I learned that the world of Three Pines is becoming a TV show on Amazon and I could not be more excited. Each one is better than the previous one.
Spy Camp by Stuart Gibbs. I’m really enjoying this series with my kids. We’re switching back and forth between the Spy School series and the Upside-Down Magic series.
Upside-Down Magic #5: Weather or Not. Our next read-aloud at bedtime.
Shelter Mountain by Robyn Carr. Once I was able to set aside that the storyline is different from the show, I could enjoy it a little more.
Sanditon and other stories by Jane Austen. Once upon a time, I thought I had read everything Austen had written. Then I discovered a movie called Lady Jane that was adapted from an Austen work. (And I knew Sanditon had been a PBS show.) So I grabbed this collection at the library to see what it was all about. Sanditon is an unfinished novel and I can’t stop thinking about this. What would Austen have done with the story if she had finished it? Where did she want it to go?
Everything Happens For A Reason: and Other Lies I’ve Loved by Kate Bowler. It’s not easy to love a book about dying, but this is more a book about learning to live when you’re told you’re dying. I still wanted to read some kind of happy ending, and the book ends hopefully, just not with the kind of ending I was expecting. And I’m okay with that.
Queen of the Flowers by Kerry Greenwood. More Phryne Fisher mysteries. Always good for a diversion.
Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation by Kristin Kobes Du Mez. Our first book club pick for the fall. I couldn’t even get through the introduction without being angry. I’m so glad I’m reading this with a group.
Whispering Rock (Virgin River #3) by Robyn Carr. I can’t quit Virgin River, so I’ll be busy till the end of the year now finishing the 16 remaining books in the series.
Open by Andre Agassi. A candid and compelling autobiography by a tennis legend. His “rivalry” with Pet Sampras in the 90s was one reason I fell in love with tennis. I was a Sampras fan, but after reading this book, I realized I backed the wrong player. I feel like the sports world owes Agassi an apology for its judgments and labeling of him. In general, I hate that we make heroes and villains out of athletes and actors and other celebrities. A must-read for any tennis fan, past or present.
A Virgin River Christmas by Robyn Carr. Fourth in the series. Sorry not sorry for all the VR books.
